Balloons Over Hudson (MA)

[Aqualung]

This morning I met up with Gretchen & Kriss (and two other guys from Nikonians) at the Balloons Over Hudson. While not exactly a Santa Fe event, it was still a lot of fun.

There was a lot of ground fog and the balloons were late taking off. Turns out taking off wasn't the issue, but landing was.

Here are a few of my shots, I'm sure Gretchen & Kriss will post theirs too...C&C welcome, EXIF intact...A lot more in my Flickr set

1. Propane blast...the balloon bottom is actually red as you can see in the next shot

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2.

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3. While not actually inside, this balloon kept its top open for a long time

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4.

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5.

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6.

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7. Yup, this dude was going up sans basket, the only one.

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8.

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9. Love the disclaimer on his propane tank

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10. Off he goes to catch up...

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And....Gretchen & James!

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[spalding12]

chris,
great shots
i'm so glad they went off at all
so often weather gets in the way
i was hoping we'd see these

excellent
thanks for sharing them with us

 

[Aqualung]

thanks a lot Greg, it was a lot of fun. Tons of people (and kids) @ 6AM...

 

[spalding12]

thanks a lot Greg, it was a lot of fun. Tons of people (and kids) @ 6AM...

we have a BRANDON BALLOON FESTIVAL in april every year
i will mark it on my calendar to go next year
not sure why we never go
it's about an hour from here

 

[NewBert]

The Adirondack Balloon Festival will be held just outside of town here in mid-September. It lasts 3 days, and I'm hoping for good weather. Really looking forward to it.

Based on these images, it looks like the Hudson Festival was a lot of fun!

 

[BostonRott]

Chris,

These look great, your composition skills are strong! :smile: Hope to see you back there tonight, we're planning to head outta here around 5:30 (half hour to field) and sunset is set for 7:50-ish.

I checked my EXIF on last year's balloon glow: ISO800, f/4, 1/15th (D200). The balloons light up for short time (maybe 5 seconds?), so gauging exposure was tricky. I definitely recommend RAW, if its not your normal mode. :smile:

 

[Leigh]

Those are lovely, Chris. It's also nice to see Gretchen.

 

[Aqualung]

Thanks Bert, Gretchen & Leigh...I'm still learning composition aside from sports...and Gretchen, thanks for the settings tips, I'm not sure I'll be able to make it tonight, but I'm trying!